Ann Curry and Matt Lauer in happier times. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
Did Ann Curry ever exist? One day after her teary and touching goodbye from Today, there was no mention of her on the morning’s broadcast, or any reference to the prior day’s turn of events.
Instead, Savannah Guthrie was seated in Curry’s chair next to Matt Lauer. The show’s announcer never said their names during the opening voiceover, nor did their names appear on screen as they normally would. The camera cut straight to them, as they launched right into the morning’s top stories.
In a week in which the journalists covering the news became the news, the entire show ignored the Curry-colored elephant in the room. Hours later, NBC released a press release confirming the obvious: Guthrie is officially the new co-anchor of Today.
In their second misfire in as many days, NBC thereby weakened the stature of their new co-anchor before she even began her first day on the job. By treating Guthrie’s appointment as something shameful, relegated to a Friday afternoon press release (where any news hoping to fly under the radar gets dumped, like today’s breakup of Katie Holmes and Tom Cruise), it highlights a pattern of inept decision making among NBC’s top brass.
No one can deny the abysmal treatment Curry received. The producers of Today kicked her to the curb like a worthless piece of trash.
Never mind the fact Curry has given the show 15 years of service or that she has won seven Emmy awards for her reporting. She deserved better for the simple reason she’s human.
For months, Curry endured rumors and speculation about her fate. Unknown insiders leaked to the press the show’s - and Lauer’s - dissatisfaction with Curry, blaming her for Today’s ratings decline in increasingly personal attacks. NBC never denied the leaks, nor took any apparent action to quell them.
In the end, Curry’s last day began like every other. For the first one hour and 50 minutes of the June 28th show, Curry did her job, revealing nary a hint of what was to come. But before signing off, she provided something rare: a televised moment of unscripted, raw and genuine emotion.
She proceeded to deliver one of the most gut-wrenching goodbyes in TV history.
“For all of you who saw me as a groundbreaker, I’m sorry I couldn’t get to the finish line, but man, I did try.”
It was painful to watch her anguish on full display while she spoke directly to the viewers. “I have loved you. And I have wanted to give you the world. And I still do.”
The five minute brush off was cruel and unforgiveable. If viewers agree, the public humiliation of Curry may well torpedo Today's ratings at the very time ABC’s Good Morning America is coming on strong.
One year ago when Meredith Vieira resigned after five years at Today, producers gave her a well-deserved two hour send-off that featured tearful montages and recollections from her fellow anchors, as well as the entire NBC family gathering on the plaza to lip synch Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” in a surprise for their beloved colleague.
For Curry’s farewell, producers placed a stone-faced Lauer, a solemn Al Roker, and a weepy Natalie Morales, on the couch alongside Curry, as witnesses to her execution. After Curry’s stunning display of emotion, her co-stars mustered ad-hoc recollections of their favorite stories she had covered, yet there were no clips. Curry’s exit had been in the works for at least a week, which gave producers plenty of time to pull together a fitting tribute from her 15 years of material. Instead, the goodbye appeared arranged in haste, and the compliments, especially from a grim Lauer, rang hollow.
Curry proved her worth by taking the high road throughout this difficult past week. As The New York Times leaked a story on the behind-the-scenes negotiations almost every night and wondered if she would show up for work each day, Curry was the epitome of a consummate professional. She held her head high and performed her job, never letting the strain show on air. She was an all around class act.
Her demeanor, as well as her accomplishments, will stand as her legacy in stark contrast with the network’s disrespect.
Curry’s accomplishments include covering violence and ethnic cleansing in Sudan where she reported six times; interviewing the Dalai Lama; broadcasting live from the South Pole; climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness about the pending water crisis caused by melting glaciers; and interviewing countless world leaders, including Iran’s President Ahmadinejad, who broke the news to her that Iran would release the two American hikers his country held hostage for two years.
Alongside Katie Couric, Lauer and Roker, Curry was part of the team that secured Today’s 16-year winning streak in the ratings.
When Vieira replaced Couric, there was never a dip in the ratings. While that wasn’t the case with the transition from Vieira to Curry, it’s unfair to place all the blame at Curry’s feet.
Much has been made of Curry’s lack of chemistry with Lauer. But why is lack of chemistry Curry’s fault alone? It takes two people to create chemistry. Did Lauer make any special effort to connect with Curry and make her feel welcome in the chair next to him, as he did with Vieira?
It was rumored when he signed his new $25 million contract with Today in April, he specified he didn’t want Curry as his co-anchor any more.
In her only interview, given to USA Today on the eve of her departure, Curry took the high road when discussing Lauer, pointing to all the years they’ve spent together.
"You know, Matt and I have had great on-air chemistry for 14 years, been part of the No. 1 winning team for a history-making number of years," she says. “That said, I just finished my freshman year as co-host. In every single co-host's first year, there have been kinks to be worked out, and perhaps I deserve as much blame for that as anyone."
Does she think she was given enough time to work out those kinks? "No, I do not," she says flatly.
Would she have liked more time? "Oh, sure I would have," she says.
This April, a resurgent GMA snapped Today’s lauded 16-year winning streak. After revamping its on air team the last two years, and pursuing a morning formula that emphasizes light entertainment above journalistic substance, GMA is taking audience away from Today. GMA now trades the #1 spot in the ratings with Today on a daily basis.
In the past year, Today has lost what was once a 780,000 viewer lead over GMA. At the end of the most recent sweeps rating period in May, Today won the month by a slim 13,000 viewer margin, but by the end of the first week in June, rebounded to a 332,000 viewer margin.
On June 21st, The Wall Street Journal reported during the recent “up fronts” in New York where media buyers purchase commercial air time, GMA was perceived as stealing ad dollars from Today. This subtle shift in perception was due to the increased ratings of GMA, and its overall less expensive ad rates compared to those of Today.
In the same piece, The Wall Street Journal noted that according to Kantar Media, the Today show collected $485 million in ad revenue in 2011 during the 7:00-9:00 am time slot alone, whereas GMA brought in $299 million.
Although the above data indicates Today still attracts the majority of the morning show ad dollars, it also highlights Today’s vulnerability. If Today’s downward ratings trend continues, or if this week’s missteps accelerate viewer defections, advertisers will pull dollars from Today, placing new financial pressures on NBC’s parent company, Comcast.
Whatever the myriad reasons for Today’s current woes, Curry became the scapegoat. In the USA Today interview, Curry noted:
“I know I am not to blame for the ratings worries. And my bosses have said to me there are many factors involved. There is no doubt that the rating wars have become meaner and less focused on our responsibilities as journalists.”
The post-Curry era won’t be easy for Today as the revolving door of correspondents keeps turning. It was widely reported that news reader, Morales, wants to leave. Morales has been at Today for six years, to Guthrie’s one, and has been passed over for the top job twice.
Savannah Guthrie. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
Guthrie herself is now in a difficult position after replacing Curry. No one wants a repeat of the Jane Pauley/Deborah Norville debacle when Pauley was usurped by the younger, blonder, Norville. Viewers left Today in droves and Norville was out within a year. That was in 1989 and GMA was closing in on Today in the ratings, which sounds familiar.
In her favor, unlike the frosty Norville, Guthrie is likeable, spunky and intelligent. Although she isn’t responsible for how NBC executives hung Curry out to dry over the last week, she runs the risk of the public blaming her anyway. To her credit, Guthrie never acknowledged the rumors surrounding her. She continued her job hosting the 3rd hour of Today and filing reports on NBC Nightly News, and didn’t crack under the scrutiny. Guthrie must be disappointed to start the coveted, high profile job under uncomfortable circumstances.
Everyone in the business understands there’s no such thing as permanent job security. The nature of the medium leaves an anchor’s fate to the mercy of fickle viewers and floundering network executives prone to shuffle deck chairs at the slightest ratings hiccup.
